Raising Orphans, Not Assassins

"Where do you live?" Qin Yi suddenly asked.

Xiao Lian's mouth opened slightly, about to say it, but she swallowed the words "orphanage".

She thought of Chen Ye, Da Ming, and Xiao Fu.

Qin Yi, after all, is an assassin, and they had just met. She feared it might bring trouble to the orphanage.

Considering Qin Yi's ability to appear and disappear, Xiao Lian figured she might already know her residence.

"Unwilling to say? It's fine."

Qin Yi didn't dwell on the matter.

"You saved me today. Without you, I might have died."

"Though I'm known as the Yu Luo Sha, I won't harm my savior. You can rest assured."

"I will leave Yuhang County in three days to investigate some matters. When I return, I'll come find you."

Qin Yi took out a heavy money pouch from her bosom and tossed it to Xiao Lian: "This is 100 taels. Keep it."

"If there's nothing else, you may leave."

Xiao Lian caught the pouch, bit her lip lightly, and lowered her eyes, whispering, "Thank you, Master."

Qin Yi's attitude made her feel a bit guilty.

"Being cautious is good. I've said you are a natural-born assassin."

Qin Yi seemed to see through Xiao Lian's thoughts, speaking calmly.

Xiao Lian bowed and then said, "I will leave now, Master."

Her tone was noticeably more respectful.

"Mm." Qin Yi's voice remained calm and emotionless.

Xiao Lian, with the three manuals and 100 taels of silver in her bosom, retraced her steps back.

Once Qin Yi could no longer see Xiao Lian's figure, her autumn-water-like eyes glanced behind her not far away: "You there, come out."

A figure dressed in night clothes suddenly appeared twenty meters in front of Qin Yi.

The person wore night clothes, their face covered with a mask, making it hard to discern their features, but their figure was slender.

Under the moonlight, Qin Yi could sense no malice in the person's eyes.

"Who are you?" Qin Yi's beautiful eyes gazed at the figure, her icy inner strength flowing slowly.

The figure didn't speak. They looked deeply at Qin Yi before stepping forward.

With a flicker of movement, Qin Yi was shocked to see the figure reappear at the street corner, covering a distance of thirty zhang in a single step.

Another step and the figure vanished from Qin Yi's sight, as if they had never been there.

In the deep night, the summer breeze blew gently, rustling Qin Yi's skirt.

Staring at the empty street, a chill crept over Qin Yi's delicate skin, giving her goosebumps.

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"This footwork..."

"Is it human...or ghost..."

She whispered softly, feeling her sword-wielding hand grow cold.

...

Yuhang Orphanage.

Xiao Lian sneaked into the courtyard and carefully closed the gate behind her.

She touched the manuals in her bosom, feeling a mix of emotions.

I got it, I really got it.

Xiao Lian looked up at the deep night sky, a touch of sadness in her eyes.

Mother...

I will kill him.

Xiao Lian pushed open the door, seeing a small oil lamp burning on the table in the center of the room.

The flame flickered gently.

Chen Ye sat on a chair, his elbow resting on the table, head drooping as he dozed off.

Hearing the door open, Chen Ye opened his sleepy eyes and saw Xiao Lian. He yawned.

"Back already?"

Chen Ye stood up and headed to his own bedroom. "Try not to go out at night. If the night patrol catches you, it will be troublesome."

"I'd have to go to the yamen to get you out."

"Get some rest."

Chen Ye pushed open his bedroom door and went inside.

During this process, he didn't ask Xiao Lian where she had been or what she had done.

Xiao Lian stood there, her eyes like a lake disturbed by a stone, causing ripples.

Chen Ye lay back on his bed and checked the system information.

[Ding!]

[Mission Completed: Establish Future Career Path for Orphan (2/2)]

[Congratulations, host! Reward: 1000 points, 2 orphan skill draw opportunities]

[Current points balance: 6172]

[Remaining orphan skill draw opportunities: 2]

"Sigh, can't she be as simple and ordinary as Da Ming?"

Chen Ye sighed lightly, his gaze piercing through the window, looking at the deep night.

[Ding!]

[Xiao Lian's gratitude has increased!]

[Current gratitude level: 67%]

The system's cold prompt sounded in Chen Ye's ear.

He smirked, snuggling into his blanket, and whispered, "At least she has some conscience."

The next day, the weather was clear.

After breakfast, Chen Ye placed  Xiaofu in the cradle and sat on a recliner with a suspense novel he had exchanged from the system store. He started reading.

When he reached the last page and the mystery was revealed, Chen Ye gritted his teeth and put the book down.

"So lame! You keep hinting at ghosts and superstitions, only to reveal it was future technology all along?"

Feeling like he had wasted another 50 points, Chen Ye put the book aside.

The system store offered many cheap items, but books were exceptionally expensive.

"Oh, right, I still have two trait draws left."

Chen Ye suddenly remembered that he had been rewarded with two trait draw opportunities after completing a mission last night.

He thought for a moment and spent another 5000 points to get an additional trait draw opportunity.

Now, he had three draw chances in total.

After all, points could only be used to exchange for items, and most of them were cheap.

After redeeming the draw opportunities, his points balance shrank to 1172.

"Let's see what I get with a triple draw."

Chen Ye rubbed his hands together, focusing his thoughts.

A virtual blue roulette appeared before him, spinning rapidly.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, host! You've drawn the orphan skill: Fortunate Fate!]

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, host! You've drawn the orphan skill: Light as a Swallow!]

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, host! You've drawn the orphan skill: All-round Development!]

Skill information appeared before Chen Ye's eyes.

[Fortunate Fate: Live a life free from illness and disaster; increased likelihood of encountering fortuitous events.]

...

[Light as a Swallow: Your body becomes agile and flexible; greatly enhanced mobility and aptitude for lightfoot techniques.]

...

[All-round Development: When one ability is enhanced, other abilities will also increase slightly; unable to learn various manuals.]

...

After reading through the three skills, Chen Ye already had plans for their allocation.

"Xiao Fu is a girl. Although her background isn't great, I just want her to grow up healthy and safe. That's enough for me."

Chen Ye glanced at the sleeping Xiao Fu in the cradle. With a thought, he brought up her information panel and assigned the "Fortunate Fate" skill to her.

[Name: Chen An'an]

[ID: 0003]

[Gender: Female]

[Age: 1.5 years]

[Current Skill: Fortunate Fate]

"Safe and sound, living an ordinary life is enough."

Chen Ye sighed with some sentiment and looked at the next trait.

"I'll give 'Light as a Swallow' to Xiao Lian. Although she has some issues with her temperament, she's a good kid."

"She's a killer now, and I don't want her to get caught and killed someday."

Chen Ye muttered softly.

After a month of living together, Chen Ye had gained a deeper understanding of Xiao Lian.

[Name: Xiao Lian]

[ID: 0002]

[Gender: Female]

[Age: 13 years]

[Traits: Dexterous, Light as a Swallow]

[Current Gratitude Level: 67%]

Having assigned two traits, the last one was given to Da Ming.

"In this world with martial artists, having more self-defense ability is always a good thing."

"Paired with the 'Strong Physique' skill..."

"Yes, with increased strength and other abilities improving as well, 'All-round Development' will ensure that even if he encounters martial artists, he won't easily be beaten to death."

Chen Ye analyzed and then assigned "All-round Development" to Da Ming.

[Name: Chen Da Ming]

[ID: 0001]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 10 years]

[Traits: Strong Physique, Great Wisdom Appears Foolish, All-round Development]

[Current Gratitude Level: 80%]

After allocating the traits, Chen Ye stood up and stretched his back, muttering, "Being a director really isn't easy, I have to cover all bases..."